Running Red
by spicylatte
Summary: Super AU, Katniss is an FBI agent during the 1980's Cold War. Johanna is a suspected Soviet spy. It starts out pretty slow, but I promise it's going somewhere! I want it to be a lengthy story so stay tuned for updates! Joniss.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

The streetlights outside on 7th and 28th street flickered as a woman darted down to the depths of the subway. She was a blur amongst the rushing ocean of people, sinking, falling down stairs and entangling herself in the 6pm rush hour hysteria. Whilst on the subway car, (standing of course) she gripped the steel pole tightly, sweat dripping down her neck and staining her white shirt collar. In her other hand was a briefcase, and in her head thoughts crashed and bumped around like cars at an intersection sans traffic lights.

She looked around, studying the faces of the people she was squeezed next to, all either too tired to make any hint of actual expression or too hyped up on caffeine to care. The conductor mumbled some drivel into the speaker and the doors slid open, the woman pressed past the crowd and made her way off the train. Her shiny high heels clacked against the wet city sidewalk as she strode to her apartment, neon lights and signs flashed as she walked by. She turned her key into the lock and it clicked open as the sun started to drown behind the tall buildings in the dusk.

Throwing off her coat and breifcase she went over to bedroom and took off her pumps, placing them in the closet and returning to the kitchen. There stood her fiancé, he looked up from the bubbling pots on the stove, took off his oven mitts and went over to peck her on the cheek. "Mmm, smells good," she complimented and went to go set the dinner table.

"It's beef stew, I know it's one of your favorites," said the fiancé, "And there is some bread in the oven."

"Can't wait! You really didn't have to go to all this trouble though, I mean... I could have-"

"Katniss, it's no big deal. I like to cook, and you must have had a long day at work."

"Ugh, I did. But really, thank you."

The two of them sat down at the dinner table, the clinking of forks and knives and ceramic plates replaced the words they didn't say. She washed the dishes, he dried them and put them away. A siren's sound wailed through the walls of the apartment as it went past on the street floors below them, the two of them sat on the couch stiffly.

"What's your favorite color?" he asked suddenly.

"That's random," she laughed. "Green, what's yours?"

"Orange."

"Orange?"

"Orange, like a sunset orange."

"Oh, that's a pretty color."

They watched the news and she took a shower afterwards. The warm water trickling down her hair and skin, she tried to focus on nothing else. An hour passed and she still stood there underneath the falling water, there was a concerned knock at the door, she replied with a simple, "I'm alright, I'm just getting out now," and turned off the faucet. She wrapped herself in two towels, one for her body and one for her hair and brushed her teeth.

When she came out, he was still there, they lived together so he was always going to be there. The two of them had decided to move into the same apartment after their engagement which was a few weeks earlier. The thought of having him always being there comforted her, but also unnerved her slightly. She was more independent than he was.

The next day went almost exactly the same way, routine with a few small alterations: the headline on the newspaper was different, the subway was running five minutes late, she wore a different blouse etc... She came home, dinner was cooking, they sat and ate and watched the news. She took a shower.

The day after she woke up before him as usual, got herself dressed, wove her long brown hair into a neat braid, and made a pot of coffee. She sat at the empty table, drinking small sips as her eyes wandered over the latest copy of _The New York Times_. The headline story was something about what the Soviets were up to now, the threat of communism and nuclear war sat on the weight of America's shoulders still, she didn't know how long the war would last, no one really did. The clock ticked by each second she sat alone and when it was over, she put on her coat, grabbed her case and stepped out the door.

The crisp air of a New York autumn morning refreshed her and did a more efficient job of waking her up than the coffee. She rushed down to the subway, descending into the morning sea of people on their way to work. She'd gotten used to the busy new city, her and her fiancé had moved there from a suburban town and it was a change, but maybe it was a good one. Arriving at the field office, she stepped in and flashed her badge to the guard at the desk and swiftly made her way down the hall to her office. She waved to everyone as she passed them, her kind eyes practically said "good morning" all on their own. She sat down at her mahogany desk and started to sift through her papers and log on to her clunky gray computer.

"Morning Ms. Everdeen," called an older gentleman as he entered her office.

"Morning sir," she said as she looked up from her work.

"Your findings on the drug bust from last week were excellent!" he raved. "But I actually have something else to slap on your plate right now."

"Thank you, but I'm pretty booked, I mean I still have to do my conclusions on that case and I have some new lead about a ring from Queens to work on."

"Yes, well I assigned that work to Mr. Abernathy, hope you don't mind. What I have for you is really big, and I know you're the one for the job."

"Haymitch? Seriously? I mean no disrespect, but... I put so much into those reports and I was really excited about that lead... Sir I just don't think I can give up everything I've been working on and start a new case right now."

"I understand you have a lot of irons in the fire right now, but Ms. Everdeen please consider this opportunity. I haven't even told you what it was yet."

"What... is it?" she asked as she fiddled with one of her pens.

"Well, we have a lead on a Red."

"Oh nooo, I told you from the beginning that I wanted no part in this Russian investigation business, I want no part in the war at all."

"You're one of the best field agents we have, I know this isn't exactly what you signed up for but I think a change of pace would be good for you," he shot her a look of almost desperation. "We think that we've located one of the most elusive Red spies in years, this is a very important job and I know I can trust you to handle it."

Katniss thought about it for a moment, she thought about her mundane life, her routine, everything she felt too comfortable with but also too sick of. She thought some more, her boss began to sweat. "I'll do it," she shot out impulsively.

"Excellent!" he smiled and threw a thick manilla folder on her desk, "Here is the file, I'll give you more details about this case tomorrow. Just take some time to really study the suspect. And by the way, how is the wedding planning going?"

"Um, it's going well," she smiled.

"Great. You won't regret this, Everdeen!" and with that he was out the door.

Katniss looked down at the folder, she knew that by opening it and looking at its contents she would become involved and everything she'd just agreed to would become real. She decided to leave it there, sitting on her desk amongst papers from all of her other cases, all of her murder cases and drug bust files. This one though was a different species, this one was much bigger than anything she'd done so far, it was on another level. It was on the Cold War level and as her fingers tensely lifted the folder open, she was about to be immersed into all of it.

But before she could even read the suspected spy's name, a coworker came in and started to ramble about something insignificant. She breathed a sigh of relief as procrastination comforted her and she lost herself in the smooth, meaningless words filling the room.

Katniss left the building when the day was through and made her way down the city streets to the subway station. The still unopened folder screamed out to her from inside her bag, it begged to be perused, and she dashed home clutching it tightly to her chest the entire time. She sped through subway tunnels, streets and crowds of people; she'd spent most of the day trying to ignore the classified information but she couldn't anymore. The curiosity was too much, she was enthralled with this new adventure, something scary to break her free of the mundane.

She crashed into her apartment, and her fiancé ran over to her from the kitchen startled. "Katniss, are you okay?" he asked with at least twelve different shades of concern in his voice.

"Yeah..." she began distractedly, "Peeta, I'm fine, I'm... I'm good..." she trailed off into their bedroom and closed the door. He waited outside for a moment and then returned to the kitchen to finish dinner. He worked at a bakery on the Lower East Side, it wasn't a very high-income career, but with Katniss working in the FBI they didn't need to worry about finances too much, and it was what he loved to do.

She dazedly sat down on the bed, the folder had her in a trance from the moment she laid eyes on it. Her delicate fingers ran down the side of the folder, she eyed it with caution but desire, she was almost teasing herself by not tearing it open right away. She flipped it open at last and it was like she'd unlocked Pandora's Box. Her gaze ran in circles all over the page, she was staring at a folder full of information about one single, very dangerous person. The suspect's name was Johanna Mason, it was written in large black Times New Roman and it sat next to a black and white photograph of the woman. She didn't look like a spy, she wasn't wearing a trench coat, or a fedora, she didn't look furtive or mysterious at all in fact. The picture showed a woman with shoulder-length dark brown hair, she was wearing a black T-shirt and staring into the camera smugly with a crooked smirk on her face. Her eyes were dark and suggested maybe there was something more to her than her expression, but who knows?

Her file was packed with clippings from obscure newspapers and various other sources. There were blurry photos, little blurbs cut out of documents and such, it didn't seem like there was too much information known about her at all. She was seen rendezvousing with some other suspected spies, and there was a plethora of reports or news stories about a person they suspected was her leaking information to the USSR. She had been charged with espionage and treason nine times, but was never caught or captured. She had been known to be very good at her job, getting top secret information was practically her God-given talent it seemed. Katniss sifted through page after page, picture after picture, allegation after allegation of information about this person. The agency had suspected she was hiding out somewhere in Canada, but no one had actually seen the suspect in three months.

She stayed up late pouring over Mason's file, she ignored her fiancé's call to eat dinner, she didn't shower or change. Finally she fell asleep, the papers scattered over her and the bed, blanketing her. Peeta came in around midnight, tiptoeing around his soon-to-be-wife and picked up each paper, stacking them into a neat pile and placing it on the nightstand. He climbed into bed next to Katniss, put his arm around her waist and drifted off to sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

At work the next day Katniss sat at her desk reading over the suspect's file some more when her boss slipped into her office. "Everdeen!" he boomed, "Had some time to think about the Mason Case, I see?"

"Yes, sir," she mumbled without looking up at the man.

"Well?"

"I'll do it," she said with determination in her voice. She glanced up from the pages and smiled slightly.

"Fantastic! I knew you'd come around. Okay, okay, let's talk details, let's do some housekeeping. Alright, as you read in the file the suspect is well, _suspected_," he laughed at his choice of words, "to be hiding out up in Canada. I'll arrange a flight for you this Thursday, how's that sound?"

"Well... I knew that she was there but I didn't know I was going to be actually going to another country, I mean I have to tell Peeta and I... I don't know..."

"Relax, it probably won't be for very long, you're the head agent on this case, Everdeen, I need you up there as soon as possible."

"Is anyone else going to be working on this with me?"

"Not at the moment, but if you need backup you can give me a call and I'll send somebody up, okay? So I'll have a flight for you on Thursday, I'll keep you updated with the schedule and itinerary and all of that, nothing to worry about. Why don't you take tomorrow off to pack and prepare yourself and your fiancé? This is gonna be big, oh hoho, I have a good feeling about this one."

"Yeah... Sure that will be fine, okay thank you."

"Sure thing, and as we receive information we'll send it over to you and you can contact us here at the office if you need anything, alright?"

"Yes."

"Okay, okay. I've got a good feeling about it!" he chuckled and left the room.

The agent stared out the window, this whole thing was happening so quickly, her heart raced as she continued to study, research and take notes on the subject. The case was consuming her already and it had only barely just begun. She studied the pictures, stared into Mason's dead brown eyes for minutes at a time, they were deep and reminded her of the forests from back where she used to live. Her hair was disheveled in some of the pictures, but not a strand was out of place in others. Her nose was small and pointy, her thin, red lips always smirking or smiling as if they were closed doors and everything Katniss needed to solve the case was locked behind them. Her mouth curved down when she smiled, her small white teeth peeking behind her lips, she didn't look dangerous, but she didn't exactly look meek either. One article in her case file explained she got away from detectives by putting on an act of weakness, hiding behind a delicate facade, this was crucial information to keep in mind.

Katniss spent the entire next day packing up her things and studying more and more about this woman. She scarfed down an entire loaf of Peeta's homemade bread while pouring over the pages, God she was going to miss that bread.

"So, when will you be back?" asked her fiancé.

"Oh, I don't know, they said I shouldn't be gone for too long."

"Where exactly are you going, again?"

"I'm not really supposed to tell anyone that, sorry."

"Oh. Well, I'll miss you."

"Yeah, I'll miss you too. I won't be gone long, don't worry, okay?"

"Should we still keep planning our wedding? I mean I know we haven't picked out a date yet, but.."

"We'll plan it when I get back, or I can try to call you?"

"Okay, that would be good..." he sighed running a thick hand through his short, blonde hair.

"Yeah," she smiled sincerely at him. His face was full of doubt, he looked lost. The girl went over to him and wrapped her arms around his shoulders, she was very good at being consoling and motherly. "Hey I should call my sister..."

"Oh, yeah, you should go do that. Do you want me to finish packing for you?"

"No, that's alright. Thanks for dinner," she smiled once more and left the room.

She picked up the phone hesitantly, she knew her sister worried about her a lot, especially with her line of work. She didn't want to concern her, but talking to her younger sibling always helped when she was nervous about a case. The ringing of the phone echoed through her ears until finally she heard a gentle voice on the other end.

"Hello?" said the voice.

"Prim?"

"Katniss! Hi, how are you? How's Peeta? When are you getting maaaaried?" she chimed.

"I'm good, he's good. Oh boy, we don't really know yet but when we do I promise you'll be the first one to know about it."

"Yes!"

"How are you and mom?" it was just the two of them living alone together now, Katniss and Prim's father had died years earlier and Katniss had recently moved out to the city. She felt guilty leaving them, but she made sure to check in regularly. Their mother had become despondent after the loss of their father and it more of the sisters taking care of their mother rather than the other way around.

"I'm okay, and mom is... she's fine."

"Make sure she takes her pills every night."

"I do... I do."

"Good, you're so brave, Prim, it'll be okay."

"I know, Katniss. So what's new?"

"Nothing much, listen I called to let you know I'm going on a trip tomorrow. So if you need anything, just call here and talk to Peeta. I don't know when I'll be coming home, but I promise it won't be long. I miss you both so much..."

"Alright, I will. Where are you going?"

"I can't say, you know the rules you silly little duck."

"Haha yeah... We miss you too... I miss you."

"Don't worry, just take care of yourself now."

"I am. Katniss?"

"What is it?"

"Be careful, okay?"

"I will! I will be super careful, just for you, Prim."

"Okay, good."

"Well, I'd better go finish packing, I love you."

"I love you too! Come home and visit soon."

"I will, I promise. Bye."

"Bye!"

Katniss hung up the phone and looked at it with a hint of melancholy, she longed to see her little sister sooner. She got up, wiped a tear from the corner of her eye and got up to finish her luggages. Soon, everything was packed and placed neatly by the door, all ready and waiting to be carried away in the early hours of tomorrow morning. Peeta put a hand on her shoulder and started to say something but before he could she exclaimed, "Oh wait! I forgot something," and sprinted into their bedroom. She returned seconds later with something clutched tightly in her fist.

"What did you forget?" he asked.

"My mockingjay pin."

"Oh, right your good luck charm."

"It's not exactly a good luck charm..."

"Well, you know what I meant."

Katniss's mockingjay pin was a small golden pin with a sharp-looking bird on it. She'd gotten it at a flea market when she was younger and brought it with her everywhere ever since. "Here," offered the boy as he took the pin from her and fastened it to the exterior of her suit case. "For safe travels." She nodded at him.

That night, the two of them hopped into bed, Katniss turned over on her side to face the wall and started to try and fall asleep. But she couldn't, her head was buzzing with excitement about the adventure she was about to embark on. She twisted and turned under the sheets, her body squirming and shuffling around.

"Katniss?" whispered Peeta.

"Hm?"

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine... I just, I can't sleep..."

"Come here," he sighed as he pulled her towards him into his arms. He began to massage her shoulders and kiss her neck. She calmed down a little, his kisses became wilder.

"Peeta..." she protested as he slid his hand up her nightshirt. "Peeta, stop."

"What's wrong?" he asked, pulling away.

"I'm just... I don't want to do this right now."

"Are you mad at me?"

"No, of course not," she said. "Just... I don't know, I have to get up early tomorrow and I have a lot on my mind right now, okay?" she excused.

"Uh, yeah. Okay, good night then, Katniss."

"Good night."

The morning crept into the bedroom, slowly weak sunlight dripped onto the bed and the sleeping girl awoke. She groaned and turned over, there was no one in the bed next to her. She got up and drifted into the kitchen to find Peeta cooking breakfast.

"Morning," she yawned.

"Morning, big day today."

"Yeah, I'd better go get dressed."

"Okay, the eggs are almost done."

She slipped on some clothes, pulled her hair into a braid, and went back for breakfast. She toyed with the food on her plate, poking the yolks on the sunny-side up eggs until they burst and swirling her fork around in the yellow liquid.

"Toast?" offered her fiancé.

"No... thanks."

She finished and got up from the table, "Well I think the taxi-cab is outside waiting for me," she stated. He pulled her bags over to her and walked her out the door and accompanied her down the elevator. The golden-colored cab was parked right in front of the apartment building, she hugged Peeta and they dumped her luggage into the trunk.

"Well," she began, "Good bye!"

"Bye, be safe."

"I'll be back before you know it. Here I go..." and with that she disappeared into the taxi and it drove away down the hectic city street. He watched the yellow car vanish into the mass of traffic, he watched her vanish too.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Canada was freezing. Katniss tightly wove her scarf around her neck and rolled her luggage outside of the airport, a taxi was supposed to pick her up and take her to her new temporary apartment. When she arrived, she unpacked all of her things and took a burning hot shower. The place was cozy, definitely a one-person flat. The tea kettle squealed from the kitchen and the girl went to go pour herself a mug, she plopped herself on the couch and turned on the TV, it was time to unwind from all the traveling.

Eventually the sun disappeared behind the horizon and the moon took its place in the dark blue curtain of sky. Katniss tossed and turned, but eventually drifted off into one of those sleeps where you wake up every now and then.

Since she was now out of the country, there would be no FBI offices in Canada, however the agent found a local police station and asked some questions about her suspect. The officers laughed as they handed her a thick file containing all of the reports of Mason in Canada, she stuffed it in her bag with the other one and smiled.

"Good luck," they jeered as she strode out of the office. She chuckled at their lack of belief in her, but she didn't blame them for not knowing that she was simply one of the best agents there was. She made herself comfortable at a small table at Tim Horton's and poured over the new information while taking bites off of a maple-flavored donut. This perp was going to be hard to track down, she was too slippery for past investigators to snag, but Katniss had faith in herself. She thought of suspects as targets, and she was a bow and arrow, striking bullseye every time.

Days went by, which turned into weeks and still no leads on where the spy could be hiding. Dozens of calls from her fiancé filtered through her phone line, dozens of apologies and lies of returning home soon were uttered. She began losing sleep, bags developed under eyes and her once perfectly neat braid grew wild and frizzy. She was used to not catching a suspect right away, but with this one there was no new information coming in at all from anywhere. This went on for several more weeks, she was beginning to lose hope.

Katniss decided to try and forget about Mason for at least one day, give herself some time to clear her thoughts. She went out to get some firewood, the little apartment had a fireplace and the nights were growing colder as her pile of wooden logs grew thinner. She got in her rental and drove around the lonely winding roads through thick pine forests, she drove for hours until she happened upon a lumber yard. She pulled up and parked in the small gravel lot and walked down to the little building. Surrounding it were open fields where muscular men chopped blocks of wood in half, their sweat leaking through their clothes and onto the dirty snow.

"Hello," greeted the boy at the counter, "What are you looking for today?"

"Um just a bundle or two of firewood, I think."

"Alright, well why dontcha follow that man over there out into the yard and he can help you pick one out eh?"

"Sure," she grinned and followed a surly man out into the lumber yard. Stacked up against the back wall of the building were piles of chopped wood already sorted out into tied up bundles. She heard the grunts of the working lumberjacks and felt the bitterness of the brisk winter air biting at her cheeks.

"Doesn't it get too cold for these guys?" she asked.

"Oh no, they sure do work up a real sweat haha," the man laughed in his low-baritone voice.

She scanned the yard, observing the men and their hard work. Her eyes dancing along a field of movement and silver glimpses of the metal of their axes shining in the sun. Then she spotted someone different in the crowd, a woman.

"Who... is that?" she asked, motioning to the girl hacking her axe at the logs vigorously.

"Oh, that's our very own lady lumberjack," chuckled the man. "Our only one, too. But old Josephine is very good at her job."

"Josephine? Hey, um can I go talk to her?"

"I don't see why not, just be wary you don't startle her, she can be pretty jumpy with her axe there."

Katniss's boots crunched through the splinter-covered snow as she carefully walked over to the woman. She studied her, her muscled arms worked precisely with every piece of wood she chopped, her dark hair swung in her short choppy-ponytail, her eyes fixed on her work.

"Hello," said Katniss tentatively. The worker looked up and sneered, and the agent's heart stopped. That smile was all too familiar, her dark mysterious eyes, the way her lips curled around her teeth and her eyebrows turned down. This was no ordinary lumberjack, this was Johanna Mason. But she had to play it cool at first, this was nothing like one of her fantasies where she just yelled "freeze" and caught her target and everything was perfect. This girl was a espionage genius and one wrong move would lead in losing her capture and return to the States.

"Hello," her voice was high-pitched and breathed a hint of arrogance. "Can I help you with something?"

"I just want to buy a bundle of firewood."

"So then why didn't you just pick one up from over there and pay for it? Do I look like a cashier to you?"

"No... I'm sorry I just noticed you were the only-"

"Woman out here? Yeah, I have fantastic skills, I'm better than most of these boys."

"I can see that."

"Is there anything else you need because I have a lot of work to finish up here."

"Sorry, I just thought we could relate, I'm one of the only women in my field also."

"Oh are you? And what field is that?"

"I'm a banker," Katniss lied.

"Oh a banker, how exciting."

"I just know it can be pretty tough, a lot of people don't believe we can work just as good as the guys."

"Well, fuck that. And fuck anyone that has anything to do with it. Times are changing, finally it's our chance."

"Yes, definitely. I never got your name anyway?"

"Josephine Mersault."

"You're French-Canadian?"

"I'm... a little bit of everything. What's your name?"

"I'm Katherine Edmunds," she lied again. It would be too easy to track her down as a part of the FBI if she gave the perpetrator her real name. Aliases were just a normal part of her job. Lies were a normal part of her job.

"Alright, Ms. Edmunds. It was very nice talking to you. We should do it again sometime."

"Um, yes of course."

"Are you new around here or something?"

"Yeah, how can you tell?"

"You just seem so... American. I mean no offense of course."

"I am American, non-taken. You ever been there?"

"Naturally, I've spent my fair share of time in the US. Well, you'd better get back to buying yourself some wood and I'd better get back to my job if I don't want to get fired."

"Right, see you around."

"Bye."

Katniss purchased her kindling and got back into her car. She sat in the cold vehicle and started it up, but she just sat there for a moment before driving away. That was her target, she didn't look like a spy though, she didn't talk like one or act like one either. She seemed like a very straightforward person, she's good at faking it. She had to see her again, she needed more evidence and more trust before she could cuff her and ship her back to the States. She had to see her again...

She thought for days of how to go back, how to get closer to the lumberjack... why did she even choose to go undercover as a lumberjack for Christ's sake anyway? She was an enigma that girl. But somehow, she had to befriend her. Katniss strategized, contemplated and plotted, she thought about Mason nonstop for the next few days, struggling to come up with a plan to get closer. She tried looking her up in the phonebook, but she couldn't find anything under her real name or the fake one she gave Katniss.

She eventually just decided to start hanging out in the nearest town to the lumber yard, in a small rural place like this with only one town square for miles around, she had to turn up eventually.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

After a week or so of lingering around in the small town center's coffee shops and pizzerias, Katniss finally got what she wanted. It happened on a Sunday when she was in a small, independent bookstore and the assertive spy walked right in. The store was a tiny one, so it wasn't hard for them to spot each other, and maybe the suspect was playing a game as well, but something made her go over to the undercover agent and say hello.

"What are you reading, a book about banking?" she asked mockingly.

"No," replied Katniss flatly. She tried not to seem too interested in her target, she was after all just the mouse to her cat. Johanna sat down next to her, taking off her coat and picking out a random book from one of the shelves. The two of them sat in silence for a while in the dim, dusty old book store. Light filtered in through the windows, and every now and then the bell on the front door would ring as someone came in or left. You could smell the old pages of the books and the tension in the air between the two women; a suspect and her hunter.

After a while Katniss spoke up, the only way to get closer to Mason was by trying to get to know her. "So, no wood chopping today?" she asked.

"No, I love the boys but sometimes a girl just needs some alone time."

"You're not exactly alone though."

"You know what I mean, it's not like I was expecting to see you here."

"Oh, do you come here a lot?"

"Yeah, I guess I do, I like it in here."

"Me too."

"Well," she smiled, "Then I guess I'll be seeing you a lot." Johanna got up, bought the book she was reading and waved to Katniss as she left the book store. The girl waited a while, and then quickly drove home to the apartment. She got her boss on the line and told him all about Johanna and how they met and how the case was going.

"Excellent! Simply excellent!" he exclaimed.

"Yeah, I think I just need some more time with her to make her gain my trust so she doesn't flee and I'll have her home in no time at all," Katniss said confidently.

"Clever girl, I knew you could do it. Alright, try to wrap it up though, you never know with Mason, she's tricky. Do you need any back up, Everdeen?"

"No sir, I think I've got it under control."

"Perfect! Marvelous! Alright, keep me updated."

Over the next few weeks, Katniss had been frequenting the small book shop in Johanna's town. The two of them grew pretty close and got to know plenty about each other, or plenty of lies? It was hard to tell when Johanna was telling the truth or covering up something that could link her to illegal espionage and being wanted by the United States Government. But when Johanna was talking about little things she loved, it was easy to see she was being perfectly honest. When she talked about how she loved the scent of pine or the sound of her axe slicing a tree trunk on half, her dark eyes grew wider and lit up, her chin tilted toward the ceiling and her smile became less smug and more sincere. Her lip uncurled and her smile beamed, you could tell when she spoke of the things she loved. But she only loved material goods, she never spoke of anyone she was friends with, no family, no one of significance in her life. Katniss supposed being in her line of work was difficult and getting attached to people wasn't precisely an ideal or wise thing to do. The two of them spoke and sat down to read for hours on end every weekend, Katniss could taste how close she was to closing the case and dragging Mason back to the agency in America.

"Hey," Johanna began in her bird-like voice, "Do you want to learn how to use an axe?"

"What?" Katniss asked as a few short giggles escaped her lips.

"An axe, come on, it'll be interesting."

"No, I don't really think I'd be very good at that type of thing..."

"What are you, brainless?"

"No!"

"Obviously you're not going to be good at it at first, that's why I want to teach you."

"Um, okay if you really want to..."

"Come on, brainless," the dark-haired girl teased as she grabbed the other girl's wrist and dragged her out to her car. They arrived at the lumber yard, no one else was there and it was the time of day when all of the trees became silhouetted against a bright watercolored sky of oranges, pinks and purples. Johanna unlocked the door to the little shed and picked up a shiny axe.

"Here, watch me do it first," she instructed as she placed a log on the platform and swung down chopping it perfectly into to halves. The wood pieces fell to the floor with a thud and she offered the tool to her pupil. "It's easy."

Katniss took this heavy instrument and stared down at the wood, she concentrated hard, it's just like hitting a target, she thought. She raised it up high above her head shakily and swung down with all of her might. The axe landed on the platform the wood rested on, embedding it's edge into the surface. Johanna laughed and removed it, "Here I'll help." She put her arms around the other girl and grabbed her hands firmly, together they swung the axe and chopped the wood perfectly. "See? Not so hard," she teased.

They spent the rest of the night practicing with the axe, chopping wood at tossing it at targets. They laughed and talked and axed things until the moon shone brightly in the center of the night sky.

"I haven't had a friend who's a girl in a hell of a long time," remarked Johanna.

"Really? It's just you and those macho men all the time?"

"Haha, yeah I guess so."

"Lucky girl!"

"It's nice though, to have a friend like you I mean." Katniss couldn't decipher whether or not this was one of her tricks, one of her lies.

"Yeah, you should come over some time we can do each other's nails," she laughed.

"Maybe I will."

Katniss walked through the door and collapsed on her bed, she was exhausted from all of the exercise of learning how to use an axe. Why was the person she was trying to get thrown in prison teaching her how to use a weapon? Did Johanna really not suspect Katniss of being a narc or someone suspicious? Johanna hardly seemed like the type to make friends or trust people, she was always wrapped up in a blanket of mystery, maybe this was all part of her plot too to deceive Katniss.

Just as she was about to drift off into sleep, the phone rang. She let it ring a few times and then swung her arm over and lazily picked it up.

"Hello?" she asked with sleep dripping off of the word.

"Katniss?" asked the voice on the other end. It was her fiance.

"Hey, Peeta."

"Katniss, I miss you so much, are you close to finishing up this case?"

"Yeah, I'm really close, sweetheart I promise I'll be home soon."

"It's been months..."

"I know, I know... I'm so sorry."

"It's okay, it just gets lonely around here, you know?"

"Yeah, I know. I feel really bad, I never meant for it to take so long but I've been working really hard and I'm almost there."

"I'm so glad."

"Mm, me too. So how is everything else going with you?"

"It's good, the bakery is doing great! Everyone always asks about you."

"Aww."

"Yeah, and I can't wait for you to get home so we can start planning the wedding."

"That'll be great. Okay, well I'm sorry I have to go, I'm so tired. I had such a long day..."

"Don't worry about it, do whatever you need to do to wrap things up and come home."

"I will. Goodnight."

"Goodnight, I love you."

"You too," she dropped the phone back on the receiver and dropped into cold sleep.

The next time she saw Johanna it was at the woman's home, she had invited her to paint nails and do "girl things." She was rough and she was strong, and no one ever said nail polish diminished any of that. The house was quaint and small, it was decorated as if it were a log cabin with warm rustic decor. Katniss and Johanna lied on the floor in the living room watching The Breakfast Club. Katniss dragged the dark red polish along the other girl's fingernails contemplatively.

"What's wrong, brainless, never painted nails before? Don't fuck mine up, okay?"

"I won't," she protested. She thought of Johanna, and how much she'd grown to know her and... like her? The girl was spitfire and sass with a good amount of smug, but she was nice to Katniss. She had become her friend and gained her trust just as she planned, but now things were different. It broke her heart to think of the day when handcuffs were placed upon her pale wrists, the day she would no longer see Katniss as a friend. But no, this girl no matter how much friendship she had shown her, this girl was a criminal and somehow between each fingernail she polished Katniss seemed to forget that. Between each inside joke, each joking punch on the arm, each teasing nickname or smile, this girl was dangerous. Her file even claimed that she had killed people in the past, this girl was no friend. But the charade had to go on.

"So," chirped Johanna, "Got any boyfriends?"

"Actually, I'm engaged."

"Oh wow, almost a married woman! What's he like?"

"He's a baker, and he's very kind and he cares about me a lot. He misses me a lot."

"He doesn't live with you?"

"No, he lives in America. I'm only in Canada for a little while on business, I'll be home soon though and that's when we're going to get married."

'I'm only in Canada for a little while,' the words rang through Johanna's ears and her face fell. Don't get attached, she thought. Never get attached. "Well, that sounds lovely," she said through a forced grin.

"Yeah. What about you? You must be all the rage with your lumberjack friends."

"Ha, yeah I guess I am. But no, I mean I'm single at the moment."

"Oh."

"It's just, I want them to respect me and everything. If I start sleeping with one of them, they won't look at me the same. It's like that unfortunately, I'll never understand why it has to be so unequal."

"I know what you mean."

Johanna shrugged, "Let me do your nails now, give them to me."

The night wore on and the two girls started falling asleep on the couches. Katniss stared at Johanna through heavy eyelids, moonlight shining on her toned skin. She was wearing old flannel pajama bottoms and a T-shirt with a hole in it or two and she let Katniss borrow something similar. Her arm dangled off the side of the narrow couch, her fingers grazing the floor slightly, her hair lay messy over her closed eyes and her mouth was a little bit agape. This girl was not friend-material, but then why did Katniss so enjoy being around her?


	5. Chapter 5

Early morning came and it brought with it the same bright oranges and reds it always does. Katniss glanced over at her host, she was still fast asleep and snoring softly, so she decided to do some snooping to see if there was any evidence in the house. She padded across the carpet, surrounded by the warmth of sunrise, she crept into hallways and rooms, but she couldn't find anything that proved Johanna was a spy. She stumbled upon the door to the attic and tip-toed down the creaky wooden stairs, she heard a rustling noise coming from the living room and prayed it wasn't her perp. Flicking on the light switch, the musty illumination revealed everything she was looking for, posters, files, papers, newspapers, things circled in red marker, reports from the USSR. Next to the plethora of evidence sat Johanna's axe and some picture frames with old photographs of smiling people. Katniss had found everything she was looking for, and stuffed some of the revealing papers into her pockets and ran back up the stairs as quickly and quietly as she could.

As soon as she climbed back onto the couch, Johanna's head popped up, "Where'd you go?" she asked.

"Just to the bathroom, sorry I hope you don't mind..."

"No, not at all," she rubbed her eyes and propped herself up, staring directly into Katniss's eyes. Could she tell the other girl was hiding something? Could she sense her fear and betrayal?

"Anyway, I'd better get going," explained Katniss. "Thank you, I had a really good time."

"Come by anytime, brainless."

"Bye, Josephine," and with that she was out the door and into the quiet cold dawn, carefully stepping through the snow to her car. This was it, she had everything she needed to convict Mason for her treason, she had her target locked and was ready o shoot her arrow. But why did she feel still that she needed more time? Was she just cautious that Mason was on to her, maybe if she spent just one more week...

Back at her apartment, she just set down her things and was ready to go over what she'd collected at the suspect's house when the telephone rang.

"Everdeen?" asked her boss, sounding somewhat frazzled.

"Yes, what is it sir?"

"You've spent far too long working on the Mason case, we need you to capture her and bring her home as soon as possible. What's taking so long?"

"She's just a very tricky person to crack, I mean I need to gain more of the perp's trust. I swear just give me another week or so and I'll have gained her trust, gathered enough evidence and maybe even get a confession on recording."

"You think you can get a recording of her confession?" he seemed very intrigued.

"Just give me a little more time."

"Alright, you have one week. One week, Everdeen to bring Mason back in cuffs."

"Yes, sir."

_Click._

The agent sat down on a hard kitchen chair and slumped her head in her hands. She had only one week left to wrap this entire case up, and in actuality it shouldn't even take that long. She already had evidence, and she seemed to have gained the suspect's trust, it didn't seem like she was going to run away before Katniss could catch her. But something inside Katniss was pulling for more time.

The next afternoon she drove in pouring rain, thunder cracking as she pulled up to the independent book store. She wasn't really expecting to see Johanna there, she never showed up on weekdays, but somehow she was there. She was perched by a window, her nose buried in a thick novel of some sort, she didn't even look up when Katniss sat down next to her.

"Hey, Jo," Katniss greeted, her hair still dripping from the rain.

"Hey," she smirked and looked up at the other girl, setting her book down in her lap.

"Aren't you supposed to be at work?" Katniss asked.

"Nah, it's way too stormy to be outside today. What about you, aren't you here on some kind of business trip anyway?"

""Yeah, um I am, but they don't really need me to do anything today."

"Mm."

"What are you reading?"

"1984, by Orwell."

"Oh, well it's a good thing 1984 wasn't anything like he said it would be."

"What makes you so sure? People forget it, but we're at the brink of a Cold War, here. Capitalism and Communism, nuclear weapons, missiles in Cuba, insane governments, blind citizens."

"I suppose you're right... What's your opinion on all of that anyway?"

"Just that I'd like it to end as soon as possible."

"Yeah..."

The two sat in silence for some time, Johanna reading her book, Katniss contemplating Johanna, rain and thunder pounding at the window. The yellow lightbulbs hung above their heads, illuminating their faces and bodies as neither of them could come up with anything to say, or any move to make. They were playing a game of chess, but neither one would dare to make a move. It was almost like the tension between the cat and the mouse was stimulating in a way they were both used to. These chases could be a ton of fun.

Katniss stared at Johanna, the way her small nose pointed upward a little even when she was looking down, the slight curl of her lip when she was concentrating, her dark eyelashes and shaggy bangs in her face. She was as dangerous as she was beautiful, and that was something Katniss knew very well even if it wasn't something she wanted to admit to herself. She wondered what her strong hands felt like, her slightly chapped lips, her warm skin...

"Brainless?"

"What?"

"You respond to 'brainless' now, how adorable! Brainless, why are you staring at me?"

"Well stop calling me that regardless, won't you? Sorry, I wasn't staring at you, I was just spacing out."

"Sure you're not just checking me out? It's okay, a girl like me is used to it."

"What! No, no way, I have a fiance, and besides I don't... _swing that way_."

"You really are an idiot," she teased and the two of them laughed nervously for a moment. Johanna reached out and stroked Katniss's long braid, "Do you wear this silly little braid everyday? What are you anyway, a Catholic school girl?"

"No, I just like it... I used to do my little sister's hair like this all the time."

"You have a little sister?"

"Yeah, back in America. I miss her very much."

"I bet you do."

"What about you, where is your family?"

"I don't really have one anymore," she sighed.

"Oh... I'm really sorry, I didn't mean to-"

"It's okay, life is a lot easier when there's no one left that you love. Maybe it's less fulfilling, but it's a hell of a lot easier. My mother and father were killed during World War II, we used to live in Russia and when Germany invaded... well. My brother and I managed to escape to the docks, we heard about some ships on their way to the United States so we made a plan to stowaway on one of them, get the hell out of Europe. So that's what we did, only we got caught you see... My brother begged them to let me go, he sacrificed himself for me, but my fate wasn't exactly humane either. At least I survived, and I made it to America where I stayed for a while. But the past catches up to you really fast, it grabs you and even when you thought you'd tasted freedom it drags you back down. I did some things you know, things I couldn't ever say I was proud of doing, but I had to protect myself after everything that had happened. I had to, for my brother's sake, for my parents. And I guess that's how I ended up in Canada."

Katniss was shocked at this poor girl's story, and that she was trusting her enough to share it. The thought of the whole thing being a lie crossed her mind, but the sincerity in Johanna's voice and the tears welling up in her eyes weren't something a person could fake. She touched the girl on her hand and squeezed, Johanna looked away out the window as she pulled her hand away.

"It's alright," she began through stifled sobs, "I don't need your pity." She was so strong, not just physically but mentally and emotionally too. She had enclosed herself behind steel walls and Katniss was probably the only person she ever started to allow to have even a small peek at what was behind them.

Katniss knew she had to turn her in, no matter how tragic her backstory was, she had still broken the law on more than one occasion. She only had until the end of the week to bring her back to New York in handcuffs, but now it might be harder than she ever imagined. That trust she so desperately needed before became her greatest curse. The week went by, and she spent as much time as she could with Johanna, trying to collect more evidence, trying to find excuses and any shred of criminal in this girl that would detach her from Katniss's empathy. But the harder she tried to distance herself, the closer the two of them became. They went to the movies and spent more time at Johanna's house, they shared stories and secrets and ice ream sundaes at two in the morning. The end of the week was drawing nearer, and Katniss was far from willing to throw this girl in jail, her friend in jail.

One night when she was staying over at Johanna's, they were sprawled out on the bed, drunk as hell and laughing like mad men. Only one small lamp light was on, and Katniss was curled up under the blankets. They hiccuped and giggled and somehow Johanna's hand found the other girl's, and their fingers were tangled around each other, Johanna's eyes fixed on Katniss's burning red cheeks.

"You're so d-drunk," she stuttered.

"No way, _you're_ the drunk one!" Katniss slurred.

Johanna put on her famous smug little grin and grabbed the other girl's blushing face, her lips only inches away, hot breath grazing her skin.


	6. Chapter 6

"Huh," moaned Katniss, "What are you..."

"Brainless," spit Johanna and she rolled over and went to sleep.

Katniss sleepily put a hand on the other's shoulder, but she was already passed out. She turned around and drifted off as well.

Morning came and the two girls ate breakfast together, Johanna got into a warm red flannel and made pancakes with real maple syrup. They were delicious, cooking wasn't something Katniss expected the lumberjack to be good at, but she surprised her. After breakfast Johanna had to head off to work, and the two parted ways. It was Monday, and Katniss's week was up. Her boss had called her when she returned to the apartment, wondering why the spy wasn't captive and on her way to prison, she didn't know what to say.

Her small, temporary home was cold, so she threw some fuel in the fireplace and lit a match. She'd gathered up a spilling pile of wood bundles from visiting her perp at the lumber yard so often. She held her hands out, enjoying the warmth of the hearth, she knew that if she didn't cuff Mason and bring her back to New York within the next day or two, she would face the consequences. But now, after months of getting to know her, Katniss really didn't want to see such a beautiful and strong person behind bars, after everything she'd been through Johanna deserved freedom. She didn't even seem like she was doing any more espionage, the last report of her activity was when she'd lived in America, she had set up a really simple life for herself up in Canada now... Katniss couldn't be responsible for ruining that.

The conflicted agent knew she just had to see Mason, and when she saw her she would make the choice to either take her back to the States or let her be free. She could always tell the boss that Mason had fled just as she was about to close the case. Yeah, she could always do that. The cold windy air nipped at the girl's nose as she walked to her car and left for the lumberyard; but while making the drive, she got trapped in a terrible blizzard. Men in bright orange reflective vests told her there was no way her car was going to make it through the storm on the windy forest roads. The sky darkened and she cursed, she told them she could make it through, she told them she had to get to where she was going. They rolled their eyes and strongly suggested she head home before things got worse, but Katniss was stubborn and drove on in the snow.

She continued pushing forth until her wheels just wouldn't move anymore, the snow continued falling from the slate colored sky, piling up all around her. She blasted the heater and watched as the hours ticked by. She leaned her head up against the window and fell into a light sleep. Morning came, the snow ceased to fall and the roads had been plowed, a man tapped on the glass of her window and she woke up startled.

"Miss, are you alright?" he asked, concerned.

"Yes," she assured as she rolled down the window, snow fell off in clumps. "I'm okay, just got caught in that wretched storm last night."

"Alright, well the roads are paved now so you could probably get back home safely."

"Okay, thanks."

"Have a good day, miss."

"You too," she waved and rolled up the window as she drove away, continuing to head over to the lumber yard. She cursed again at the storm and drove for another hour. Telephone poles and been knocked down, tree branches pushed off to the sides of the road, it really had been a blizzard. She'd remembered snow storms back in New York, and for a moment she really missed home.

She got out at the yard and walked inside the small red building, but what she saw wasn't anything she was expecting. There stood two agents from the FBI, and between them thrashing around in handcuffs was Johanna Mason. They all looked at Katniss, one of the agents said, "Everdeen, was this really so hard to do? I mean you spend almost six weeks up here and can't even catch Mason, but we come in and get within a matter of hours."

"Katherine? You... you were working for _them_?" screamed the convict.

"Her name's not 'Katherine,' it's Katniss, and yeah she was sent over here to put you behind bars. Only she did a really shitty job of it."

"Katniss? That's your real name?"

"Johanna... I'm so sorry, I didn't..."

"Fuck you! I thought you were my friend! I can't fucking believe this bullshit, I thought I meant something to you!"

Katniss just looked away, tears falling from her bloodshot eyes. Her eyes that were swelled up with regret and betrayal. Johanna just continued to kick and squirm around in her restraints, she continued to throw harsh words at Katniss, words that stung. She elbowed the two guards in the stomachs and tried to run for the door, but in doing so one of the pulled out a pistol and shot her in the leg. She fell to the floor with a thud, her dark hair clumped with tears and sweat, she cried and screamed, "Katniss! Katniss!" Her sobbing grew louder and more desperate as she was taken out to the van.

"We'll meet you at the airport in an hour, you can leave your things at the apartment, the moving trucks will be there to take them back to New York for you. The miserable girl just nodded in defeat. "What's the matter, isn't this what you wanted?"

Katniss sat on the couch in her cold, empty rental apartment, she couldn't get the image of Johanna screaming out of her head. This wasn't how it was supposed to end, she was supposed to help set Johanna free, not cage her in. She gathered whatever she could fit into her luggage and left for the airport, she might as well just go home. When she arrived she met the other agents and their captive at the gate, Mason was predictably making a scene, one of them shoved a few pills in her mouth and she shut right up. Her left leg where the bullet had gone into her flesh was bandaged tightly, blood staining the white cloth. Katniss sat as far from her as possible. But she couldn't hide from her forever, she was assigned to sit next to Johanna on the plane and no matter how much she begged to change seats, no one would let her.

"Johanna," she said hoarsely.

No response.

"I'm so sorry, none of this was supposed to happen, I mean I was assigned to your case but, when I met you, when I grew to know you my feelings changed. I was planning on letting you go and-"

"Bullshit."

"No, I mean it, I'm so deeply sorry, I should have warned you but I didn't know they were going to send more guys up here..."

"It doesn't matter now anyway does it? I'm going to jail and I'll never have to see you again. I guess we're both getting what we want."

"I don't want this."

"Then what the fuck do you want?"

Katniss hesitated before touching Johanna on the cheek, she snarled at her and Katniss said softly, "You. I want you." The other girl looked at her in shock. "I know you wanted to kiss me the other night... I wanted it too."

"Shut up."

"Johanna..."

"I said SHUT UP!"

The rest of the flight back to New York was in silence, neither girl could say anything to the other. No words could fix what had happened. Katniss thought of all the fun she'd had over the past few weeks with Johanna, she thought of how much she'd grown to care for her and admire her. How much she missed being around her when they were apart, how happy she was when she smiled at her and told her secrets. How she wished she could turn back time, now this amazing girl that was a victim of a cruel life was sitting next to her but wanted nothing to do with her. She stared out the window, unable to look Katniss in the eye, they were both devastated for the loss of what they were building together.

The plane landed at JFK International Airport, Katniss took a taxi home and Johanna was sent to a hospital to get treatment for her leg wound before being shipped out to prison.

Katniss walked in the door of her home, a mouth-watering smell enveloped her and Peeta came rushing over from behind the stove. He embraced her tightly, smiling like a child on Christmas morning. He showered her in kisses and "I've missed you"'s. Katniss just stared on blankly, she wrapped her limp arms around him and the two sat down for dinner.


	7. Chapter 7

Katniss walked through the crowded city streets, lights of all different colors bombarding her vision as she past. People shoving her from left and right, everything moving so quickly but to her it seemed like slow motion. She was supposed to go and keep an eye on the future prisoner at the hospital, but the last thing she ever wanted to do was see Johanna again. So she took her time as she trudged through the bustling urban setting, thankful for every crowd, every red signal that permit her from crossing the street for a few more moments. She'd tried to go and protect Johanna, she'd driven through the snow storm, she'd done everything she could.

She kept hearing those screams, "Katniss! Katniss!" running through her head. She continuously bumped into people or things like trash cans or poles on the sidewalk, and she was almost too distracted to feel embarrassed about it. Finally she came upon the hospital entrance and took all the time in the world to climb up the stairs and walk into the building. It smelled, well, like a hospital; it smelled sterile and sick at the same time, like Lysol and dead flowers. She asked the nurse if she could see Ms. Mason, and when the nurse refused, she flashed her badge.

"Oh y-yes, of course, right this way..." stammered the woman. How funny it is that all Katniss had to do to get people to treat her differently was to prove what she did for a living. How funny it was when Johanna found out.

When she saw her, she couldn't help but cry, Johanna was laying there hooked up to multiple machines surrounding her. Her eyes had gray circles wrapped around them, her lips were pale cracked, her arms looked weak and skinny with all of thse tubes protruding from them, not the strong, vibrant wood-chopping arms Katniss had seen when they first met. Katniss hesitantly walked over to her and sat down on the stiff chair next to her bed, the other girl's eyes opened slightly and Katniss fidgeted with her hands. For a moment, the two of them just stared at each other, sharing some telepathic knowledge of everything they couldn't say. Johanna closed her limp eyelids again and tried to roll over, but she was too weak to move.

"God, how could you possibly be so weak from just a leg injury?" Katniss asked.

After a second or two, Johanna replied hoarsely, "That's not why I'm like this."

"But that's what they said, they told me you were only here until your leg healed and..."

"They... they tortured me," she said with tears sprouting in her bloodshot eyes. "They wanted to know everything I'd told my comrades in the USSR, I said I wouldn't talk, so they tortured.. me." Tears were pouring down her face now, and she looked off somewhere as the horrible memories of her time in interrogation came back to her...

"No! I won't talk!" she cried out. guards and officers held her under water until she came up choking and desperate for air. They kept threatening her, pressing her for answers, and the more she refused to indulge them, the more extreme her punishments became. They jammed a block in her mouth and soaked her in the water forcing her to gag and spit, they tugged on her scalp and attached a headband full of conductive wires around her. When she was drenched enough, they asked her to spill what she knew one more time before pumping her vulnerable body with electroshocks.

Johanna shook her head and was back in the hospital bed, virtually unable to move without wincing at the physical or mental pain of what she went through. Katniss just sat there in shock, she had no idea that those were the plans for the ex-spy all along, that was why they wanted her. Guilt washed over and she grew furious, not only at herself but at the bastards that tricked her and lied to her too. She glanced over at Johanna, her eyes were sunken in, she had red splotches over her entire body and thick red marks on each of her temples. When she spoke her voice was scratchy and low, it wasn't it's usual sing song, bird-like voice that Katniss so adored. When she first walked in the room, all she could do was glance at the girl in the bed, glance at the wires and beeping machines and that's why she didn't notice all of the wounds she really had. And the welts and scabs burned into her temples could only be seen after her stringy bangs had been pushed away from her delicate face.

Katniss put her hand over her mouth and sobbed, she had to look away from this extremely damaged person. _If only there was no snow that day, why did it have to be that day?_ she thought. She had never wanted so much to turn back time and fix what had happened, but now the idea of never being forgiven by Johanna poisoned her mind.

"Johanna... I had no idea, I know that this probably means nothing to you now but I am so, very, deeply sorry. The night before they came to get you, I drove all night in that blizzard, I was going to help you get away, I swear. I had no idea they'd do this to you!" she began to cry hysterically, gasping and heaving and drowning herself in salty tears. Johanna reached out a bruised hand and put it on Katniss's own. "You should have never trusted me, for a person who had no right to trust anybody at all you trusted me and I failed you. I couldn't save you... I mean at first I was the one trying to catch you, I was so stupid, Johanna, I was so incredibly awful. This is all my fault-"

"Brainless," she rasped, "Help me now, then." Katniss looked up at her, realizing what she meant.

"Alright, I'll do whatever it takes, I swear I'll get you out of this. You'll be okay, I swear you'll be okay, I won't let them touch you ever again."

Katniss visited Johanna in the hospital every single day, she was there to take care of her and check on her healing progress. She was also there to make sure no one took her away, but that wasn't likely considering Katniss was a trusted agent working for this case. After they returned to America, Katniss's boss didn't fire her or reprimand her for not catching Johanna right away. This was surprising to her until she discovered her new task of watching over the patient and being assigned to alert the agency when Johanna was healthy enough to be sent to prison.

Katniss leaned over and pushed some hair out of the other girl's face, she gently stroked her cheek and tilted her chin up spoon feeding her some of the food the hospital provided. The warm soup felt good running down her throat, and she ate every spoonful of it that she was fed. "How are you feeling today? Any better?" asked Katniss.

"No," replied Johanna.

"You don't have to lie to me, it's been a week and the nurse says you should be doing at least a little bit better today."

She shook her head.

"Do you still not trust me? I'm not going to let them take you to prison, I thought I told you that."

"I can't yet."

Katniss was frustrated but she understood, the only way she could ever hope to regain her trust was to set Johanna free. So instead of asking her how she was doing, she asked the nurses and doctors, she monitored her health and inspected her charts every time she saw her. And soon, it seemed she was on the road to recovery.

She dipped a sponge in a bucket of warm water, and Johanna's eyes grew wide. She became skittish and frightened, Katniss placed the damp sponge on her skin and Johanna freaked out.

"Shh, calm down, it's only a little bath," cooed Katniss. But then she realized what the poor girl was so afraid of, they had torture her with water and it had left her petrified to go near it. The agent stood up and poured some water on her own arm, "See, it's okay, it's warm and it'll feel nice. I promise it'll be okay, it's only a little bit."

Flashbacks of the torture broke into the patient's mind, water gushing all around her, drowning her in suffocation and the sharp jolts of electricity burning her skin. She thrashed around in the bed and started to scream and sob. Katniss put the sponge back into the bucket and grabbed a towel, wrapping Johanna in it and pulling her into her arms. She stroked her hair and sang her the same song she used to sing her little sister, Prim whenever she would have nightmares. Soon after that, she fell asleep and Katniss covered her with the blankets and let her rest.

The next time she tried to give the girl a bath, she hugged her close and poured a bit of water on both of their arms at the same time, and when Johanna started to get anxious, she put the sponge away. Each time she got a little further with the bath, she would talk to her, or sing, or hold her and each time she would get a litle bit more relaxed until finally she got through a whole bath without quitting. Katniss smiled and praised her, "You did so good today, I'm so proud of you." Johanna smiled for a second and collapsed into the other's arms.


End file.
